S Korea braces for ‘largest’ protests against president

SEOUL, November 28 (Reuters) – South Korean President Park Geun-hye can not be questioned by Tuesday as prosecutors have requested, her lawyer said, as she resists growing calls to resign over an influence scandal that has engulfed her administration.

Prosecutors accuse Park of assisting criminal activities of a secretive confidante who allegedly manipulated power from the shadows and extorted companies to build an illicit fortune.

South Korean opposition party leaders said on 23 November that they would move to have the National Assembly vote on an impeachment motion against President Park Geun-hye between 2 and 9 December, the end of the current Assembly session. That’s the lowest figure for any Korean president since the Gallup poll, which has a margin of error of plus-or-minus three.one percent, began in 1988.

The organisers said as many as 500,000 people attended a peaceful candlelit rally in the capital last weekend, bringing streets to a standstill.

But now that prosecutors have directly linked her to the scandal, it is possible she could be impeached for breaking the law.

Park has apologized but remains unwilling to step down.

Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from Seoul, said the protest was among the largest the country had seen, and may have eclipsed the million-plus protest two weeks ago.

On Monday, the three largest opposition parties announced their intention to call for Park’s impeachment after the prosecution indicted her as an accomplice in a large-scale corruption and influence-peddling case.

The South Korean president’s term lasts until 24 February 2018, but an election must be held within 60 days if she resigns before the presidential election in December 2017. In Seoul alone, an estimated 1.3 million gathered to protest for the President’s resignation despite the cold weather.

If parliament secured the necessary two-thirds vote needed for an impeachment motion, it would be up to the Constitutional Court to confirm or reject the motion.

The former chairman of South Korea’s biggest opposition Minjoo Party also said she Park must divorce herself from issues such as the military intelligence accod with Japan and the state-authored history textbook.

A rising number of South Koreans have been expressing anger over allegations that Choi exerted influence in the business, cultural and sports areas. Park is also alleged to have directly or indirectly pressured major conglomerates into making donations to the foundations, which legal experts say could constitute an abuse of authority.

Meanwhile, the presidential office rejected the demand, saying Park will maintain her presidency to take responsibility for state affairs.